Breakdown of rice and wheat-based foods during gastric digestion and its implications on glycemic response : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Food Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2022
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Massey University
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Abstract
The composition and structure of starch-based foods determine their breakdown behavior in the digestive tract and consequently their glycemic response. The glycemic response of starch-based foods is known to be influenced by their gastric emptying rate. However, the role of gastric digestion in regulating this process has not been well-understood, especially on how food breakdown behavior in the stomach may be related to the glycemic response. In this project, the link between food structure, food breakdown during gastric digestion, gastric emptying, and glycemic response was investigated in vivo using a growing pig model. Durum wheat- and white rice-based foods of varying physical structures (semolina porridge, rice- and wheat couscous, rice grain, rice noodle and wheat noodle/pasta) were studied. It was found that the foods with smaller-sized particles (semolina porridge and couscous products) had faster gastric breakdown rate and gastric emptying rate, resulting in higher glycemic impact (maximum change from the baseline and the overall impact) compared to the foods with larger-sized particles (rice grain and noodle products). The faster gastric breakdown rate of the smaller-sized foods was related to their acidification rate in the stomach, which caused their dilution or dissolution by gastric secretions. For larger-sized foods, their gastric breakdown rate and gastric acidification rate were slower, which extended their contact time with salivary amylase in the proximal stomach.
To elucidate further the role of the proximal and distal phases of gastric digestion in solid food breakdown, a static in vitro digestion was conducted with the same food products. In the smaller-sized foods, both the proximal and distal phases led to their dissolution. Meanwhile, for the larger-sized foods, the extended contact time with α-amylase in the proximal phase contributed to the leaching of starch particles from the food, which was important to aid their breakdown during gastric digestion. The distal phase contributed to the softening of the larger-sized foods, but its softening effect was limited. The knowledge on the contributions of the phases of gastric digestion and the identified link between food structure, gastric digestion, and glycemic response in this thesis may be useful for structuring starch-based foods with controlled glycemic properties.
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Keywords
Rice, Wheat, Digestion, Blood glucose